


Swept away by the Tide (pods)

by unwxnted_ellie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Tragedy, BOM Keith, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Blade of Marmora Trials, Blades, BoM - Freeform, Bullying, Character Death, Forgive Me, Gay Disaster Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Gen, Heavy Angst, I Made Myself Cry, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Keith (Voltron) Dies, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Mentioned Allura (Voltron), Mentioned Coran (Voltron), Mentioned Hunk (Voltron), Mentioned Pidge | Katie Holt, Mentioned Shiro (Voltron), Please Don't Hate Me, Please Don't Kill Me, Poor Lance (Voltron), Sad, Sad Ending, Suicidal Keith (Voltron), Suicide, Tide Pods, Trials, blade of marmora, klangst, lance is going to need a hug, the blade of marmalade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22089745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwxnted_ellie/pseuds/unwxnted_ellie
Summary: Keith is about to be burned alive during the Blade Of Marmora Trials. He has awoken the Blade, but they can't get him out of the simulation. Little do they know, he would rather die on his own terms than by the fire.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Minor Keith/Lance (Voltron) - Relationship, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 81





	Swept away by the Tide (pods)

**Author's Note:**

> hi angels! just a quick note to get started.
> 
> DO NOT EAT A TIDE POD!
> 
> i know that was in like 2017 or whatever, but there are still people doing it! don’t!
> 
> THIS WAS NOT MADE TO MAKE FUN OF THE TREND 
> 
> this was not made to make fun of or mock anyone who was eaten a tide pod or has been affected by the awful trend. i wanted to bring attention to the fact that people are still doing it, and i couldn’t think of anything else Keith would have in his laundry room that would kill him faster than fire.
> 
> i hope you angels like it! ❤️

  
I'm running for my life. How the hell did it get to this point?. It started out just a conspiracy. Just a fucking conspiracy. The only thing I knew what that some sort of energy was drawing me towards that desert. I don't understand how I was supposed to _actually_ believe that giant robotic lions (that looked like they were straight out of a transformers movie, not going to lie)  _actually_ existed when everyone called me a lunatic? They obviously didn't believe it, so why should I?

  
  
I still remember their words. So full of hate, of disgust. 

_“Faggot.”_ They spat.   


_“Worthless.”  
_

_”Bastard.”_

_”Slut.”_

_“Look at him. He’s just going to curl up into a little ball and let us beat him up. Pitiful, just like his father. He deserves these bruises. He deserves these scars. I hope they last forever, you little bitch.”_

Why? Why me? Why had they hated me so much? Why had they despised me so, _so_ much?  
I _still_ don’t understand, and honestly, I don’t think I ever will.

The physical bruises didn’t last forever. The physical scars healed. Little did they know, however, that the mental ones hadn’t. That I was still scarred. I wasn’t ever going to heal. They were right. They would last forever. 

I shook the unpleasant thoughts away and tried to think of happier things. My friends. It may be the last time that I’m able to think of good things. May even be the last time I think freely. Of course, I’m still being chased, but it’s helping to distract me from the awful, burning pain all over my chest, heart and legs. 

I had told the other Paladins that when I left, not to dwell over my absence. That I would be back soon. That when the tasks were complete, I would return. I told them that I wasn't ready to die. I wasn't going to leave them forever. But the dreadful thought was always in the back of my mind, eating away at my subconscious. _Knowledge or death._ Well, knowledge or death my ass. I'm getting out of here.

I turn around, my short ponytail whipping my face. They're still chasing, even closer now. Crap. I just need to get to the shack. I can't let them get to me. I wouldn't survive the encounter, there are just too many of them. I can't. I just can't. I turn back around and just barely see the shack in the horizon. So _close_. I can't give up now.

The burning sensation in my lungs intensified as I pick up speed. I used to love that sensation. It meant life, it meant flying. It meant piloting and doing risky maneuvers that scared the crap out of everyone else. But I'm not like everyone else. I love the risk. There is no game without risk. A game without risk is not worth playing. But now, the burning means I'm running faster. Running to escape. I've never wanted to escape before. I have always wanted to fight. But now, I can't fight anymore. And it's killing me.

I finally reach my old shack, and I try to catch my breath. I slam my door and use all the locks I have, though I know it is a vain attempt at stopping them. They will find a way. I see them coming from out my window, and I reach for the dagger in my sheath. It's small, but it’s all I have. Then, in a flash of light, it expands.  _What? That’s never happened before._ I blink, staring at the sword in confusion. Well, I don't have time to worry about that right now. I need to fight these guys off. 

_"He did it."_

The voice is faint, but unmistakable. But it’s not coming from outside the shack. It’s coming from  inside my head. 

_"He has awoken the blade, the youngest ever."_

_"We need to get him out!"_

_"Hurry!"_

I shake my head to clear it of the strange but hauntingly familiar voices. I raise the sword, and hear banging on the door. Breathe, Keith, _breathe_. You've fought with a sword a million times before.

So why does this time feel so different??

It feels strange. Glitchy. Robotic. Not completely real. Almost like a Garrison Simulation. Technology could only get so advanced, and I would always be able to tell the difference between the simulations and flying in real life. I never got the same rush. I never got the fight or flight response that I always ignored while piloting a real fighter class plane. Or piloting my lion. Red.  _Red_. I would miss her so much.

Breathe.  _Breathe_. 

They breach the door.

_Breathe._

I slice the first... thing. What is that? I'm running out of time. I need to fight. Fight.

_Breathe._

I cut through the next, but the next one throws me up against the wall.

_Breathe._

It starts to choke me.

_I can’t breathe_.

However, it drops me. I look up in a moment of bewilderment as it then proceeds to exit the shack, along with its twisted buddies. Finally. I can breathe. Something in my brain snaps and I reach for my sword, instinctively looking around for any other enemies. Wait, why did they leave? What the hell is happening?

_Breathe._

I smell something. I look around to see what it is, and I start to hyperventilate. It's... it's _smoke_. I hear the soft crackling of a fire, and see the bright orange and soft yellow hues coming from behind my bedroom door. How stupid was I to think I was safe?

I run to the back door, but it's locked. I try to knock it down, but see multiple _things_ staring back at me evilly. There was no way I would be able to take them all. I run over to my front door, only to find it on the floor, covered in flames that are so tall that the tips of the deadly being are lapping at my ceiling. My father died  fighting a fire. I was not about to die  fearing the fire.

_Breathe._

I start to cough uncontrollably. ‘Don't breathe the smoke. Drop down low.’ My father had always told me. I did what he advised and dropped to my knees. I scan the kitchen for a cloth. A rag. Something. Anything. He had always told me to cover my nose and mouth with a wet cloth. I wasn’t about to let my father down. I wasn’t about to die. Not without a fight. I'm trying, dad. I really am.

_Stop breathing._

I run over to the old pot holder I know I have in my cabinet. It will have to do. I run it under the sink water and put it over my mouth and nose. Why didn’t I have a rag in my kitchen? Was I dumb? What was I thinking? Oh, yeah. I was too busy thinking of the possibility of a robotic lion living on my planet and an alien species kidnapping the only family I had left. Right.

_Breathe_.

The coughing stops, replaced by a horrible burning in my lungs. I was _not_ about to die because of a fire. I _was_ fire. My lion, my best companion who symbolizes fire. _I_ symbolize fire. And now I'm about to die because of it. I shudder. How disgustingly ironic. My train of thought is interrupted by another voice.

_"The controls aren't responding!"_

I hold my head in my hands, wishing for the voices to just go away. My head is pounding now, and the voices definitely aren't helping.

_"We can't let him die in there!"_

_"Stop it! You need to stop it now!"_

Yes. Stop. Stop the fire. Stop the enemies. _Stop_. I shake my head. I am not about to die by fire.  


I need to die on my own terms. 

I  _will_ die on my own terms.  


I throw the pot holder down as a fit of unforgiving rage washes over me. I ignore the furious urge to cough and trudge through the smoke to my small laundry room. Ok Keith, time to think. What could kill me faster than the flames? 

A gun

A guillotine

A cyanide pill

A bunch of chlorine. 

Chlorine? What? I mean, it would work, but where would I get any? As a matter of fact, I don't have a gun, or a guillotine... or a cyanide pill.... so how?? Then, it hits me. Not chlorine, but another very poisonous substance that I just happened to have right here in my laundry room. I dig around for a couple moments before I find it.

Tide Pods. Perfect. I see the flames engulf my kitchen and I close the door. Tears prick at my eyes and I grip the bunch of packets so tight, my knuckles turn white. The tears are flowing silently now. Wet, warm and salty, they slide down my cheeks unforgivingly. A small, choked sobbing noise escapes my lips. Because I know the truth. I know that if I do this, I will have killed myself. I had been bullied as a child. My mother left. My father died. I grew up in the foster system. But I had always gotten through. I had never once thought about killing myself, much less because I would rather die because of my own will then somebody else’s. Another sob racks my body, and I realize I’m shaking. I hear the fire crackling, feel it’s heat. I need to eat these quick. I need to eat them now. If I don’t eat them now, they will not kill me before the fire gets to me. I will still be burned. I would rather die first, however. Saves myself most of the pain, I figure. That may not be true. I don’t know how painful eating a Tide Pod is, I’ve never done it before. Same with being burned alive. I’m rambling. I’m terrified. But I need to do this now. I stare again at the pods in my hand. Do these things expire? How long has it been since I’ve been here? I’m still rambling. I need to do this now.

It's now or never.

_  
_  
I fiddled with the golden band around my ring finger. Lance had given me the promise ring two months ago, and I had never parted with it. It helped calm me when Lance went on missions. It helped soothed the butterflies doing triple backflips in my stomach. Hushed the voice in the back of my head screaming that Lance was never going to come home and it would be my fault . I knew Lance would always come back to me. I knew Lance would always come home. Because Lance always kept his promises. _  
_

_”Keith, come in.”_ I heard Shiro’s voice cut through the comms.

“Keith here. What’s your location?”

_”Almost off the cruiser. Are you and Red ready?”_

”Yeah.”

A beat of silence.   


_“Listen, Keith, you have to promise not to freak out, ok?”  
_  
  


“Uh alright?” I was getting concerned. Was Lance ok? Was he hurt? Of course he was worried about Pidge and Shiro, too. But Lance was his boyfriend. They loved each other and I needed him to be okay. If he wasn’t okay, then I wasn’t okay either.

Shiro inhaled slowly. _”Lance is hurt.”_

”WHAT!? IS HE GOING TO BE OK? IS HE DYING? IS HE DEAD? OH MY GOD SHIRO HE’S DEAD! I’M COMING IN RIGHT NOW!” I got up from my chair and started sprinting towards the hangar door. I didn’t care that I could hear Shiro protesting in my headset. I didn’t care that I had freaked out. I didn’t care that I was literally about to throw myself into space and Shiro would yell at me later for being reckless. I didn’t care that I had broken my promise. 

_Wait_.

I stopped running and stood, silent.

_Lance never breaks his promises. Don’t break yours._

That’s right. Lance was still coming home. Just like he promised.

I sighed deeply and walked back into my lion and collected myself.   


“Sorry.” I told Shiro.

Just then, the familiar crashing sound of the hangar door being breached filled my ears, and a Red opened her mouth the let the Pidge and Shiro in. And Pidge and Shiro were carrying a beaten, broken Lance.

It reminded me of how I must have looked after they had beaten me up. Battered, bruised, and pitiful. Except Lance didn’t look pitiful. He looked... peaceful. Almost like Sleeping Beauty, just waiting to wake up. Waiting for her prince to come. Waiting. But Sleeping Beauty wasn’t this cold. Wasn’t this clammy. And her prince wasn’t as scared and broken as Keith. Maybe they weren’t like Sleeping Beauty and her prince after all.  
  


But Keith could still try.

Keith put Red on autopilot and gave her the coordinates to the castle. She purred at him and flew as fast as she could. She doesn’t want her cub to be upset when his mate is in pain. She hated to see her cub so upset. It killed her inside.

Keith stared longingly at Lance. Pidge and Shiro has been smart enough to give the prince some time with his sleeping princess.

  
He brushed a kiss over his lips.

  
  
He wished it had worked.

He wished so, so badly that it had worked.

  
The second that Lance fell out of the cryopod, Keith was there. The second that Lance needed to talk, Keith was there. The second that Lance needed help, Keith was there.

The second that Lance needed Keith, Keith was going to be there.

Because Lance was Keith’s. Lance need Keith and Keith needed Lance. They would be there for each other till the end. To the end and back. And he knew that it was true.

Because Lance had promised.

  
  


I gave the promise ring a final kiss. For Lance.

I brought the small packets to my mouth with hesitant, trembling hands.

And I bit down. 

The burning. The pain. It was all too much.

My mouth was on fire.

My insides were on fire.

The house was on fire.

I was about to be on fire.

My breath hitched and I felt the thick liquid move down my throat. Slowly. My eyes widened as the realization of what I had just done sank in. I felt the warm, sticky goo move even slower. Then, it stopped. It was lodged in my throat. It was stuck. I gasped and yelped, but only a strangled, garbled noise came out. I was choking to death. I couldn’t breathe and my lungs were on fire. They were already damaged from inhaling the smoke, and now they were burning because I couldn’t breathe. I tried to suck in all the air possible. To relish it’s sweet taste and it’s relief. But all the air I was able to get in was just being pushed back out. My lungs were starved of air. So I started to reach for it. I grabbed fistfuls of it and hoped that, somehow, it would make it to my lungs. That didn’t happen. Black spots clouded my vision and I collapsed onto the floor. I felt like my lungs were going to burst. I felt my eyelids grow heavy. I felt... I felt _weak_. But this time, I wasn’t going to fight it.

I ate these for a reason. To die on my own terms.

My mission was successful.

  
  
  
It’s always good to end on a high note.

  
The Blades were finally able to shut down the simulation.

But Keith was gone.

They rebooted the simulation, but Keith was still gone. And it would stay that way.

Keith would always be gone.

They turned the bots off and walked.

It was a solemn walk, condemned and quiet. Heads hung low. Tails tucked between legs. An occasional frightened glance cast upwards.

They continued on towards Keith’s shack. Kolivan cringed when they reached it.

Or what remained of it.

The fire had been so hot, his shack had been burnt so much that only the ashes were left to fly away, floating desperately in the wind. A few scattered bones and ashes. Kolivan shook his head, knowing that some of those ashes were Keith's. No, they weren't Keith's. They _were_ Keith.

Kolivan pawned through the ashes, hoping to collect some before they blew away. Maybe, it would be enough closure for the Blue Paladin. He knew Keith and Lance were mates, or whatever the human equivalent of that is. He also knew that humans did not handle trauma very well. Crying, denial, kicking, screaming, starvation, protests and so much more were part of the human grieving process. He just hoped that maybe, just maybe, this would be enough to help soothe some of that. 

  
Bones.

Bones and Ashes.

And one final thing.

In the center of what used to be the laundry room, sat the smallest bone that had managed to survive. The bone had been... protecting something. _Keith_ had been protecting something. When Kolivan lifted the bone up, he was surprised to find the item hadn’t been touched by the fire.

Because underneath that single bone, had laid a single thing. 

  
  


  
A golden promise ring.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed it! i know people probably think i absolutely hate keith, but he’s my favorite lol. what can i say, i like to make my readers and my favorite adorable emo boy suffer. im sorry about the sad ending but all my friends liked it and i thought it was ok so i stuck with it. how did i do? 💖


End file.
